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Many Bloody Returns
Many Bloody Returns (2007) — Anthology Genres and Sub Genres Urban Fantasy / Mystery Theme Dark or humorous vampire birthdays Theme: themed around vampires and their birthday (whether it be the day they were born as a human or re-born as a vampire). List of Authors Editor: Charlaine Harris, Toni L.P. Kelner Contributors: Jim Butcher, Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine, P.N. Elrod, Tanya Huff, Jeanne C. Stein, Carolyn Haines (Myst-Thrill, Horror, Bios), Tate Hallaway (UF, PNR), Elaine Viets (Myst-Thrill, Murder, Fict), Christopher Golden, Bill Crider (Myst, Nior, Vamp-Myst), Charlaine Harris, Toni L.P. Kelner Genre and Sub-Genres Urban Fantasy Description From cakes to stakes, a celebration of everyone’s favorite bloodsucking subculture by a baker’s dozen of favorite authors. Each of these thirteen original stories offers a fresh and unique take on what birthdays mean to the undead. From Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse attending a birthday party for Dracula to Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden battling bloodsucking party crashers, these suspenseful, surprising, sometimes dark, sometimes humorous stories will ensure paranormal fans will never think of vampires or birthdays quite the same again. ❖ ~ Many Bloody Returns - SJ Harper Editors: Mainly mystery authors Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner (with a little paranormal thrown into many of Harris’ most recent works) are the editors of this collection of stories called Many Bloody Returns. In the introduction they explain how and why they chose this particular theme for their first anthology together: “We decided to pick two apparently unrelated concepts- vampires (the dead) and birthdays (celebrations of life) - and see what different ways some very talented writers could combine the two.” ❖ ~ Bibliophile's Blog List of Series Goodreads papes to all series in Links section below. * Dresden Files series #9.2 * Sookie Stackhouse series #4.3 * Morganville Vampires series 0.5 * Morganville Vampires: Extras 0.5 * Vampire Files series * Tony Foster * Garnet Lacey #2.5 * Women of the Otherworld Stories #7.2 * Henry Fitzroy #8.5 — part of the Blood Ties / Vicki Nelson world Supernatural Elements Vampires, wizard, telepath, magic users, Albanian folklore, Death, séance... VAMPIRE VARIETIES: Shtriga (vampire type), Dracula, vampire PI, List of Stories Synopsis by Story “'Dracula Night'” — Charlaine Harris — Sookie Stackhouse series 4.3 A tense night at Fangtasia as Sookie Stackhouse and her supernatural friends celebrate with a birthday bash for Dracula. ❖ Sookie Stackhouse is the only human at the annual commemoration of Dracula’s birth. But this year, the Prince of Darkness actually shows up, and finds Sookie a tasty-looking present. — In this world, vampires only have two celebrations a year: Halloween of course, and a birthday, Vlad Tepes III- otherwise known as Dracula. Each year all the vampires get together and hope that the Count will put in an appearance. Dracula Night is set between the seventh (All Together Dead) and eighth book (From Dead to Worse). “'The Mournful Cry of Owls'” — Christopher Golden Donika’s sixteenth birthday and a night for revealing a past secret that leads to a surprising future. ❖ A girl named Donika's sixteenth birthday is approaching and she is beginning to feel stranger and stranger with each day drawing nearer to the big date. Her Albanian mother is starting to act odd as well so her only solace is her music, her boyfriend, and the woods. — Used the Albanian folklore about the shtriga (a type of vampire) in such a modern setting. :AUTHOR NOTE: Golden is a science fiction and dark fantasy author (and co-author) of over nine different series and several novels as well. "I Was a Teenage Vampire” — Bill Crider (award-winning mystery author) Tale of how Carlton’s young life changed the night of his sister’s birthday party. ❖ The story is about how Carleton’s sister talks him into asking the unpopular kid at school (Binky) into inviting the vampire he claims to knows to her party. “'Twilight'” — Kelley Armstrong — Otherworld Stories #7.2 Cassandra DuCharme goes on the yearly hunt she needs to extend her vampiric life. ❖ Cassandra DuCharme, from Dime Store Magic, knows she has to kill to live as a vampire another year—but finds herself disturbingly disinterested in the hunt. : SERIES NOTE: Werewolves, half-demons, witches, warlocks, and vampires have all made appearances in Canadian author Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld urban fantasy series but some have larger parts than others do. "Twilight" takes place between the books No Humans Involved and Personal Demon and involves the vampires Cassandra and Aaron. “'It's My Birthday, Too'” — Jim Butcher — Dresden Files series #9.2 Follows Harry Dresden and his assistant to deliver a birthday present when things turn dark and dangerous. ❖ Harry Dresden, of the Dresden Files novels, heads to a role-playing party to give his vampire brother a birthday present in "It's My Birthday, Too," only to discover there are some bloodthirsty party crashers who don't share their brotherly love. :SERIES NOTE: Features two different kinds of vampires—those from the Black Court and Harry’s brother Thomas is a White Court vampire. This story takes place between the books White Night and Small Favor. “'Grave-Robbed'” — P.N. Elrod — Vampire Files series PI Jack Flemming intervening when a woman is desperate to contact her deceased husband and the séance appears to be a con. ❖ PI Jack Fleming, from The Vampire Files, infiltrates a suspicious séance on the eve of the dearly departed’s birthday in “Grave-Robbed.” Set in Chicago during 1937, P.N. Elrod’s short story Grave-Robbed takes place between the last published book A Song in the Dark and the one the author is currently writing Dark Road Rising. It stars her main series character Jack Fleming who just happens to be a vampire with some very interesting abilities. “'First Day of the Rest of Your Life'” — Rachel Caine — Morganville Vampires series 2.5 Eve’s eighteenth birthday in Morganville, and the night she’s expected to sign away her future. ❖ Young adult series The Morganville Vampires is set in a town run by vampires- not many of them good ones either. it's Eve Rosser's (a supporting character) eighteenth birthday and she has an important decision to make: will she sign up with a new vampire patron and be Protected from being lunch (like a pet)? Or will she decide to try to go it alone. This story takes place before the first Morganville book Glass Houses. “'Witch and the Wicked'” — Jeanne C. Stein Sophie caters a vampire’s birthday at the Deveraux home filled with surprises. ❖ Dreaming about owning her own cosmetics line while catering a vampire birthday party, Sophie is a little perturbed when the birthday boy is reduced to ash… but not enough to keep her from using her new ingredient in her face cream! “'Blood Wrapped'” Tanya Huff — Henry Fitzroy #8.5 — part of the Blood Ties / Vicki Nelson world Henry on the hunt for Vicki’s birthday present when he’s influenced to do a good deed. ❖ Henry needs to find the perfect 40th birthday present for Vicky while solving a child kidnapping case at the same time. ❖ :AUTHOR NOTE: Tanya Huff has been writing paranormal novels since the late 1980s but probably her most popular books were those in the Victoria Nelson series written between 1991-1997. “'The Wish'” — Carolyn Haines Sandra’s forty-third birthday and the painful tale that leads her to live and die on her own terms. ❖ Set in Mobile, Alabama, Sandra sees Death one day when she comes to take Sandra’s twins after a car accident. Despite attempts to join them, Death refuses to take her since it’s “not her time” so on her 43rd birthday she decides to arrange a little surprise when Death comes calling for her. “'Fire and Ice and Linguini'” — Tate Hallaway — Garnet Lacey #2.5 Garnet Lacey is the main character in the author’s vampire chick-lit series—a girl in love with a vampire named Sebastian. It’s her vampire boyfriend’s thousandth something birthday and she’s determined for him to have a good time despite the fact that he believes his birthday is cursed since he was born on Christmas day. However, when things really do start to go awry and they‘re stranded in a snowstorm, Garnet starts to wonder if there really is something to this curse business. ❖ “'Vampire Hours'” — Elaine Viets (mystery author, Dead-End Job series) Katherine’s birthday to face the reality of her current life and make the decision to have the future she dreams of. ❖ It’s a typical “woman gets older so her plastic surgeon husband starts shopping for a newer model” story, with a not-so-typical ending when Katharine meets some vampires. “'How Stella Got Her Grave Back'” — Toni L.P. Kelner (mystery author) Vampires Stella and Mark become amateur sleuths (with breaks for feeding) to solve the murder of a Jane Doe. Publishing Information * Publisher: Ace Hardcover * Book data:Hardcover, 355 pages, Pub Sept 4-2007, ISBN-0441015220 Book cover Blurb BOOK BLURB: You’re invited to a celebration of vampires by a baker’s dozen of favourite authors. Sink your teeth into thirteen all-new, never-before-published stories, each one a fresh and unique take on the concept of what birthdays mean to the undead. Suspenseful, surprising, sometimes dark, sometimes humorous – these frightening original stories will ensure you’ll never think of vampires or birthdays quite the same again. ❖ ~ Love Vampires Never-before-published vampire stories by Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, Kelley Armstrong, and many others. Suspenseful, surprising, sometimes dark, sometimes humorous-these all-new stories will ensure that readers never think of vampires (or birthdays) in quite the same way again. In New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris's "Dracula Night," Sookie Stackhouse is the only human at the annual commemoration of Dracula's birth. But this year, the Prince of Darkness actually shows up-and finds Sookie to be a tasty-looking present. New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher's crime-solving wizard Harry Dresden, of the Dresden Files novels, heads to a role-playing party to give his vampire brother a birthday present in "It's My Birthday Too," only to discover there are some bloodthirsty party crashers who don't share their brotherly love. In "Twilight," Cassandra DuCharme, who appeared in New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong's Dime Store Magic, knows she has to kill to live as a vampire another year-but finds herself disturbingly disinterested in the hunt. Plus ten more bloody good birthday stories that take the cake. ❖ ~ ~ FF Category:Anthologies